


The One Where They're A Band

by gillywulf, kaumana



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Tour life, battle of the bands plot, making up band names and having a good time, or tour lyfe, smash the mothafuggin comment, smash the mothafuggin kudos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-13 23:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11195589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillywulf/pseuds/gillywulf, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaumana/pseuds/kaumana
Summary: The AU where instead of forming a super-powered group, they're just a new wave pop-rock band. They're in a battle of the bands that takes them on a cross country tour, and there's drama. Gay drama. This is all you want.





	The One Where They're A Band

“I know the whole sensei guinea pig thing seems a little out there, but once you get past the big teeth and the weird clothes, it’s really not all that unusual.”

 

“You know, I’m not sure this is the worst incarnation of Power Rangers in the universe, okay, but that line has to be,” Jason mumbled in disgust. Ninja Storm was only the latest in their Power Ranger marathon, but once the nostalgia had worn off, it was definitely much easier to see the weird aspects that genuinely made no sense. Like a talking, upright-walking guinea pig that was apparently in charge.

 

“The original premise of the show involves a talking wall,” Trini rolled her eyes and sank deeper into Billy’s couch. She threw a handful of popcorn from the bowl on her lap in his direction for good measure. It landed far short, instead showering Zack who was perfectly enthralled with the show. The only evidence he’d even noticed was a soft grunt. She felt a sharp nudge from Kim’s elbow in her side a second later.

“You’re cleaning that up.” she chided. Trini only rolled her eyes again.

 

“Fine.”

 

“I mean it.”

 

“So do I.”

 

“I would be really bothered if my martial arts teacher was a rodent,” The girls stopped and stared down at Zack. He squinted at the screen as his hand reached blindly for a piece of the wayward popcorn and, once he found some, he tossed it into his mouth. Billy cringed.

 

“I’m not sure that was clean...”

 

He merely earned a shrug in response.

 

“Five second rule, dude.”

 

Jason shook his head at the whole exchange before starting to stand. “I'm gonna go pee, due to boredom.”

 

“What do you mean? This is top quality television.” Trini said, her voice completely dead-pan so the sarcasm was obvious.

 

Forgoing a rebuttal, Jason continued his way upstairs. There wasn't really much for him to say anyway, they all knew what they were watching was terrible. Except Zack. And maybe Billy, since he put it on.

 

“It's not that bad,” Kim began but didn't sound convincing to even herself. “At least, this is the only one where the Red Ranger’s a girl! And she's not totally evil.”

 

That earned a chorus of “True,” and nods from around the room. You had to give it credit for being progressive, at the very least.

 

“If this was real life, you would definitely be the Red Ranger, Kim.” Billy added, turning to look in her direction.

 

Kim nodded approvingly, putting her hand to her chest in exaggerated gratitude. “Why thank you, Billy.”

 

“More like the Suck Ranger.” Trini grinned.

 

Kim gasped, exaggerating it as well, really going for the Oscar in fake hurt feelings. “I will throw you out of Billy’s house.”

 

Trini raised an eyebrow. “I'd like to see you try.”

 

But before Zack and Billy had to bear witness to a fight that probably would've made them uncomfortable, they heard a scream from upstairs. A scream that sounded a lot like Jason.

 

“GUYS!” He yelled from the second floor. “GUYS, COME LOOK AT THIS, OKAY??”

 

“Aw, Jason must've made his first poopie in the toilet! He's officially potty trained!” Zack yelled back up the stairs.

 

“You guys have to be quiet or you're gonna wake my mom up!” Billy said in an urgent whisper.

 

“ARE YOU GUYS COMING?”

 

Billy’s lips tightened, straining his face in discomfort. He really didn't want to wake his mother up. She was glad he finally had friends, so he knew she wouldn't kick them out, he just felt she deserved some peaceful sleep.

 

“Let's just go upstairs before he wakes up the whole neighborhood.” Trini mumbled, stomping her way up, which kind of negated the whole ‘trying to be quiet’ thing. Everyone followed, which only added to the noise on the steps.

 

They found Jason standing in the doorway of Billy’s bedroom.

 

“Jason. This is not the bathroom.” Billy blurted, hoping that he didn't get the two confused. He got confused sometimes with things, but never the bathroom.

 

“Okay, guys, are you ready for this?” Jason moved out of the way so his friends could see inside the room. “Look at this thing!”

 

“My room is private!” Billy interjected, but everyone was already peering in. And as soon as they looked, they knew exactly what Jason was freaking out over.

 

“Why didn't you tell us you played keyboard?” Kim demanded.

 

Before them stood the most intense keyboard they had ever seen in Angel Grove. There were so many knobs and additional parts, it probably could make every sound in the world. Even Trini couldn't help the “Whoa,” that escaped her lips.

 

It was a two keyboard rig, and the one on top looked like it had been built from several different salvaged synthesizers.

 

“My dad used to play instruments, and he had this old keyboard, and then I found one and I took it apart and I started to make my own cuz I liked the way they sounded. The more I added the more sounds I could make. You'd be surprised how many things you can find in a mine. Diamonds, possums, old money, shoes, baby possums, circuit boards- although I don't know how some of that stuff gets down there…” Billy was losing himself in thought, no longer really speaking to the group so much as dictating his thoughts aloud. But he usually, though the journey may be long, came back to the task at hand. “Also, Jason, what are you doing in my room?”

 

“Okay, so I wet my shirt in the bathroom, and I was just going to borrow one of yours but then I saw this!” Jason answered.

 

Zack burst past Jason, looking at the rig. He stalked around the synthesizers, inspecting them up close and personal. Finally, he put his hands on his hips, that crazy glint that usually meant bad news for them coming to his eyes. “We should start a band!” He stood in front of them with his arms outstretched as if he revealed a Nobel Peace Prize winning invention.

 

Jason inhaled sharply. “Yes! We should totally start a band! KIMBERLY. Didn't you say we should start a band?”

 

“I was one hundred percent joking.” Kim laughed, shaking her head at her friends.

 

“But don't you play the guitar and sing? We could do this!”

 

“We could be famous! And rich!” Zack yelled, despite everyone being relatively close to one another.

 

“You guys are losers,” Trini couldn't help but add to the conversation. “Also shut up, Baby Blue’s mom is sleeping.” Billy frowned and turned to Jason.

 

“Am I Baby Blue?”

 

Jason shrugged.

 

“Trini?”

 

“I mean, yeah, duh, who else?”

 

Zack gripped Trini’s shoulder, his body brimming with energy and shaking at the possibilities. “While Baby Blue is a great name for B, does anyone play drums?” Silence. For a long moment the five looked at one another, everyone else hoping someone would confess to a secret skill.

 

“Like Jason said, I sing and play guitar.” Kim offered awkwardly.

 

“I do bass.” Zack wiggled his eyebrows, the grin spreading far too wide for his cheeks.

 

“Guitar here.” Jason was clearly beginning to get excited too. He was fighting the smile that threatened to match Zack’s.

 

“I play keyboard. I mean, obviously.” Billy threw in. They all turned to Trini whose on gaze was stuck stubbornly to the ground.

 

“This is painfully convenient.” Trini immediately felt Zack’s grip on her shoulder tighten when the words left her lips.

 

“Do you mean-”

 

“Yeah. I play drums.” she mumbled. She looked up and found all of them watching her with various kinds of surprised raised eyebrows. “I like metal okay? And it’s a great way to blow off steam and piss off my parents. ”

 

“I would really like to scream with how excited I am because holy _fuck_ but Billy, your mom is a lovely lady and I don’t want to wake her, so I will happily scream in the morning on the way to detention. That cool with everyone?” Zack was filled to the brim with emotion. He loved his friends almost as much as his mom and now he would get to do something _awesome_ with them that would have a chance to really grow into something. Next to him, Billy felt the same, if his rapid clapping was anything to go by.

 

“Yeah, okay man.” Jason laughed. “Just make sure it doesn’t sound like you’re being murdered.”

 

“Wait, we need a name!” Billy interjected.

 

“Zack and His Friends.”

 

“No.”

 

“Zack and the Monsters.”

 

“You’re kidding.”

 

“Zack and the-”

 

“Power Rangers!” Billy was so excited that he nearly shouted his idea, quickly covering his own mouth once he realized his volume. Kim frowned.

 

“I don’t think I like ‘Zack and the Power Rangers.’”

 

Billy was already shaking his head. “Not Zack-”

 

“Oh man.”

 

“-just ‘Power Rangers!’ Like the show!” He beamed at everyone in the group and each one of them could feel something like eagerness clawing at their throats. “Cuz, you know, ‘different colored coins,’” he gestured vaguely downstairs to where the TV awaited the group, “‘different colored kids!’ And also how cool would it be to be superheroes? I think this is the closest way!” His excitement and enthusiasm was met with subdued reactions. Each of his friends had an indecipherable look on their face and he was sure that even neurotypical people would have trouble figuring out how they felt.  

 

“Billy, we could do a _different_ Power Rangers inspired name, okay, but that might be a little heavy-handed.” Jason was the first to try and voice his thoughts.

 

“Yeah, something like...the Ivan Oozies” Kim offered. Trini’s cringe only earned her another elbow to the ribs. “We’ll work on it.” The four of them pretended as well as they could that the sudden slump to Billy’s shoulders didn’t break their hearts.

 

“Okay, I’ll have a list.”

 

“You do that, Billy. In the meantime, I gotta bounce. I’ll see you guys later” Trini gave a lazy wave and shoved her hands into her pockets for the long walk downstairs. She had to keep her ‘tough guy’ vibe after all. Kim wasn’t far behind.

 

“Wait up, I have to go too, I can give you a ride.”

 

“Oh, sure, thanks.” Trini turned her face away to hide a blush she wasn’t sure was there. Better safe than sorry.

 

“I have to admit, I’m actually really excited for this whole band thing. I’ve never done something like this before.” Kim grinned as she unlocked her car.

 

“Yeah. It’ll probably be better than playing for my brothers’ fake band, anyway. They mostly jump around and scream into the mic, and _not_ well.” Trini joked, sliding into the passenger seat.

 

“I would guess. At the very least, I have a half decent voice, so even if we really suck, we’ll be better than your brothers.” The car purred to life underneath them, rolling and rumbling as Kim nudged it into reverse. She pushed it up to the main road and came to a stop to look both ways.

 

“You know, the more I think about it, the more I really like having ‘Power Rangers’ for a name.” Trini admitted after Kim decided the coast was clear. The driver shot her a glance.

 

“I’m not going to lie, as soon as I got over the initial shock, I was in love with it.” Trini broke out laughing until tears were streaming down her face. When the laughing didn’t subside, Kim pulled over to the side of the street, worried she’d broken her best friend.

 

“We are such nerds.”

 

“ _That’s_ what you were laughing about?”

 

“Yeah. We’re going to be Power Rangers.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Take it all, take it away." Trini crooned from her seat behind the drums.

"Hey, hey, love mends the pain." Kim sang from her place in the front, trying to guide the crowd into clapping in sync with her.

Trini internally cringed. She was grateful Kim chose to sing that line, instead of giving it to her, like she originally intended. She didn't think she'd be able to stop herself from barfing on the stage. But when Kim sang it, it was almost bearable. Like it was something she could believe.

Besides Billy, who had somehow managed to make his synthesizer sound like horns, Trini was the only one playing as they repeated these lines. It was something of a breakdown. Trini only didn't completely consider it one because she didn't get to use her double bass.

“Take it all, take it away, take it all-”

“We built our own house, own house!” Kim belted and everyone kicked back in. It was up to the audience to know when to clap now, her hands were back on her guitar.

  
_With our hands over our hearts_

 

Jason danced his way closer to Billy, sweat pooling on his forehead, and a huge smile on his face. This was probably his favorite song to play. It just made everyone feel good.

  
_And we swore on that day_

 

Billy never looked up from his keyboards. His head bobbed accordingly and aggressively, but it's like his eyes were glued downward. He only glanced up at the end of songs to clap for his bandmates, and sometimes he would smile at Jason or Kimberly when they caught his attention.

 _  
_ _That it will never fall apart_

 

Zack made eye contact with Trini, turning away from the crowd. He rocked his bass back and forth and wiggled his eyebrows. She rolled her eyes, but let the corner of her lips turn upward. He grinned back, nodding.

Next thing she knew, Zack was standing above her, balancing on her bass drum.

 

 _Will never fall apart_  
_Will never fall apart_  
_With our hands over our hearts_  
_Will never fall apart_

The crowd _wooed_ but Trini was not impressed. In fact, she was unbelievably pissed, and almost tempted to kick her own drum so Zack would fall over. But she kept it together, it was the last fill of their last song. She kept perfect time and didn't miss a beat, holding onto her snare to mute the last hit.

“Thank you guys for sticking around for our set! We're the Power Rangers!” Kim said into the mic, and they all knew that was their cue to grab their instruments and scurry off stage as quickly as possible.

 

* * *

 

 

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop jumping on my drum set?"

In the green room, Trini had just grabbed an ice cold bottle of Coke from the fridge. Most of the acts in their battle of the bands were minors so of course there was no alcohol. But the Cokes were at least the glass bottled ones, to give the kids a similar experience.

She twisted the cap off. "Next time, I swear I'm gonna kick your ass. Right on stage."

Zack smirked. "If you can reach it."

She threw the bottle cap at him. "Fuck you.”

Trini plopped down onto the leather couch, bringing the drink to her lips. But before she was able to take a sip, Kim was there, swiping it from her hand and taking a swig. She leaned back onto the other side of the sofa and draped her legs over Trini, showing no intention of giving it back.

"Bitch," Trini mumbled, smiling despite herself. “Why didn't you get your own?” She squeezed Kim’s knee for emphasis.

Kim's only response was to wink and grin, and Trini hoped none of her bandmates noticed the redness on her face, or she would have to fight them all. Granted, that would automatically make them famous, but not in the way they hoped.

"All I'm saying is, it's not fair that Trini gets to play the drums _and_ sing! All the girls pay attention to her!" Zack announced, continuing their conversation from earlier. He sat in the middle of the room on what seemed to be a cheap storage ottoman from IKEA. Billy and Jason sat on a bench next to the windows, browsing their phones. They basically handled all the band’s social media stuff.

"Well, if you guys didn't sound like dying birds when you sang, maybe you could do backing vocals." Trini snorted, trying her best to sound snarky, despite being acutely aware that her hand still gripped Kim’s knee.

"I gotta do _something_ to stand out!"

Kimberly finally felt the need to add her two cents. "Zack, you're like... A hot guy. Just take your shirt off or something, the crowd would lose it."

"Wow,” Zack looked down and paused, feigning embarrassment. “This is so sudden Kim, I almost don't know what to say…” He smiled in the most innocent way he could manage, which wasn't very. “So you wanna be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, fuck off Taylor!" That was Trini, who, if she wasn't currently weighted down by Kim's legs, probably would've got up to hit him.

"I'm trying to!" That barely innocent smile dissolved immediately into his normal devious grin.

Kim just shook her head. "Stop being gross, Zack."

"Maybe you should stop trying so hard." Billy suddenly jumped in.

Zack gave him an incredulous look, Jason too, even though he hadn't said anything. "You only say that cuz your boyfriend's already in the band!"

"True." Jason responded, not looking up from his phone. He held his hand up and Billy immediately high fived it, but they didn't let go at the end, turning it into a hand hold.

"And even Billy gets attention cuz of his sunglasses!"

"Do you know how many things there are on stage, Zack? There's screaming people in front of you, and then lights above you, and I have to watch out for all you guys! The glasses help me focus on just playing my keyboard."

Zack sucked his teeth, unsatisfied with everyone's responses.

"Should we be like, good sports and go down to watch the competition? The judges might think we're stuck up if we stay up here." Kim said, switching the subject to a less dead end conversation.

Trini exhaled loudly. "Please, this is NOT a competition. The other bands suck."

"I think that behavior is exactly what Kim was talking about.” Jason laughed.

“I'm gonna hang back here for a moment, but I'll be down there in a little bit!” Billy said, scratching his head and looking apologetic.

“That's fine, Billy!” Kimberly responded, standing. Not that she thought she was more important than the rest of that band, but people tend to recognize the lead singer, so she had to go down. “Trini and I are gonna head down though.”

“What?” Trini sputtered. “I don't remember agreeing to this!” But Kim was already grabbing her and pulling her up.

“Come on!”

“Okay, I'm going down too!” Jason gave Billy’s hand a quick squeeze before heading over to the door. “Gonna take some pics for FB. I'll be right back, Billy.”

“That's okay, Jason.”

Zack tried to lean backwards before being reminded by gravity that his seat didn't have a back to it. “I'm staying up here with Billy. I'm gonna see if they have anything good on the TV.”

Trini smirked. “Are you sure you aren't just staying up here to sulk?”

Zack frowned deeply, offended, and then stuck his tongue out at her. Trini returned the favor.

Kimberly rolled her eyes and dragged Trini completely from the room. Jason was right behind them, but not before throwing a “You guys are children,” over his shoulder.

“Are you gonna babysit me?” Zack yelled back.

The main part of the venue with the stage was down a flight of too small and probably not well maintained stairs. Trini and Kim lost track of Jason immediately after descending them. There were a lot of people there, and he disappeared into the crowd.

Kimberly looked toward the stage. A band made up of a bunch of skinny teen boys were performing. They sounded like they thought they were really cool for listening to their dad's old records. They weren't bad though, and it was definitely something you could move your feet to.

“Come dance with me!” Kim said, and it was kind of almost a question, but not really, because she was already pulling a trying-to-make-herself-dead-weight-Trini to the dance floor.

“Why are you like this?” Trini demanded, but her words fell to deaf ears. Well, not literally deaf, but Kim was already swaying her hips and moving in time to whatever song the 1975 wannabes were playing.

Trini wasn't trying to be a creep. She really wasn't. She was just trying to live her life and drink all the free cola upstairs but her friend forced her to come down here and was now moving around her like she was trying to audition for _So You Think You Can Dance?_

If anything, the fact that her feet were frozen to the floor and her eyes became honing beacons was 100% Kim’s fault. If she thought about it, most of her distress was Kim’s fault. And that's exactly what she would call what she was feeling now. Distress.

"Dance with me!" Kim repeated.

"No, this is stupid." Trini wondered if Kim had ever been told no in her life. Probably not. She was probably this completely angelic child that people couldn't say no to, and then turned into this unreasonably gorgeous almost adult that people couldn't say no to.

Kim frowned, but it was practically a pout. "Why are you such a stick in the mud?"

Trini forced her eyes elsewhere. "Cuz I'm grounded.” She grinned. An opportunity to make a pun that isn't taken is an opportunity wasted. But Kim’s frown only deepened.

"You're not funny."

"Oh, but I am."

Kim let out an irritated sigh. "Come on! You're not white so I know you have rhythm!"

Kim was right, and Trini had begun doing the very least of two-stepping without realizing. "Well this isn't really the kind of music I can dance to. If this was salsa, I'd dance circles around you."

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Kimberly smiled, but looked completely serious, and Trini could tell that was something she was filing away for later. She should have never said anything.

"You look ridiculous, Hart." Trini grumbled, like that post where the person didn't know how to handle their crush on a girl and therefore told them to leave their school. She had to say something caustic, something to stop her eyes from wandering, something to stop the redness that began at the tips of her ears from creeping down to her face.

"No, I look like I'm having fun!"

Trini rolled her eyes, but continued two-stepping around her significantly more enthusiastic partner. It was just enough participation to get Kim off her back. Fortunately, there was only about thirty seconds left in the performing band’s bouncy yet melodramatic new wave song.

“That was ‘If You See Something, Say Something!’ Once again, we’re Buffalo Exchange! Thanks for jamming with us tonight guys!” The curly haired lead singer spoke into the mic. “Our last song is gonna be a cover! This is Sleazy Bed Track!”

“Oh, I love this song!” Kimberly exclaimed, grabbing Trini’s hands.

Trini raised an eyebrow. “You love a song called Sleazy Bed Track?”

Now it was Kim’s turn to roll her eyes. She’s sure it’s a bad habit she picked up from Trini. “Shut up. This song is a lot easier to dance to, just, put your hands here.” She still had a hold of Trini’s hands and guided them to her waist.

Trini’s body immediately tensed up. And as Kim’s hands slithered up to wrap around her neck, she swore she was being choked. She couldn't breathe, so that was the only explanation. Kim was trying to kill her.

 

 _Know it's getting late_  
_But if you'd like to talk a little more_ _  
Well that's alright with me_

 

Trini’s hands were balled into fists against Kimberly’s waist. It was uncomfortable, but the crescent moons she left in her palm helped her keep a grip on her sanity. A lose one, but a grip nonetheless.

It would be easier if Kim would stop trying to hold eye contact as they swayed. Trini was forced to look at her, so she wouldn't tell on herself, when all her eyes wanted to do was study the floor. She could feel her face burning, but she hoped the lighting was on her side.

Speaking of, the lighting was low and golden, and Trini didn't remember it being so atmospheric when they were playing. And the tempo was so, so _lazy._ Like it wanted time to meander along. It wasn't in a rush, and Kim stared at her like she didn't mind.

Trini hated that look. When Kim’s face would get soft, and her eyes took on an impossible depth. It made her want to hit her. Not that she ever would. But she just didn't like to feel the way that look made her feel, and her graceless mind could only think of violence or running away as the solution. Sometimes, more often than she should admit, a third option would sneak into her head. But she shook it off much faster than the others. Honestly, just decking Kimberly Hart in the face and then sprinting away felt more realistic.

Her feet were vibrating, and it made its way up her body, until a burst of kinetic energy was rushing through her veins. She needed to move, or her body would shake itself apart.

As if she knew Trini was thinking of running, Kimberly leaned in, bringing them closer together and resting her head against Trini’s.

Trini froze. She now had the opposite problem, where all the energy she just had left her body rather abruptly. On reflex, her fists uncurled and now lay flat on Kim's waist, and she couldn't even make spit come to a dry mouth. If she wasn't red before, she was definitely the same color as a fire engine now. But thankfully, Kim couldn't see.

But not so thankfully, it was only because Kim was too damn close. Trini could feel her chest rise and fall with every breath, and it caused her to forget her own breathing pattern, her lungs and heart already trying to find the way to synchronize with Kim's own.

She was gonna die here. On the dance floor. And it was going to be The Bluetones’ fault.

Kim let out a contented sigh. Trini tried to think about monster trucks and metal music and not how close Kim’s mouth was to her ear, how if she turned her head ever so slightly-

“Trini, I really want..." Kim breathed into her hair.

Trini coughed. Her brain couldn't remember what a monster truck even looked like, let alone how to speak. "Yeah?" She gulped. Surprisingly, considering how her mouth had stopped producing saliva.

Her heart pounded in her ears, awaiting an answer, hoping for an answer, as Kim took a cruelly long pause.

 

 _Why hide your face from me?_  
_Why turn away?_ _  
All I wanna do is pull you closer and say_

  
"A milkshake!” Kim exclaimed, pulling away to look Trini in the eyes. “Do you think we could stop for some on the way to the motel?"

"Um.” Trini’s soul had literally left her body. She wanted to hit herself now. What did she think Kim was gonna say? Why did she let herself get so worked up? “Fuck yeah.” She tried to sound cool, though her voice came out hoarse. “I love milkshakes."

Kimberly scrunched her nose. "Of course you do. You have a problem."

Trini forced herself into seeming comfortable. Kimberly was her friend, and she couldn't treat her weirdly just because she couldn't keep control of her own thoughts. "I don't know what you're talking about."  

"How many times on this tour have we lost you and Billy, just to find you guys at the local candy store eating yourselves into a coma?" Kim laughed.

Trini looked off to the side for the moment, as if truly contemplating Kim’s words. "Hmmm. That doesn't sound like me."

"You're obsessed with sugar! You only like sweet things!"

If Trini's hands weren't on Kim's waist, she would've made an exaggerated act of clutching her non-existent pearls. "That's not true!"

Kim's eyebrow raised in an unsaid accusation, in a _care to explain?_

"Well, I mean, I like you.” Trini hoped she sounded nonchalant, and not desperate, not like she was trying to make a declaration of love or like like, or whatever. If anything, she was trying to insult Kim.

And she immediately took the bait, her face twisted in offense. "What's that supposed to mean??”

Trini smirked. She had to keep the conversion light so it didn't get quiet, and Kim wouldn't hear Trini's heart beating along to fucking _Sleazy Bed Track._ "That means you're more like... Sour.”  Her smile grew at her own cleverness. “Or maybe even spicy."

"Get off me, the song's over.” Kim grabbed Trini's hands, but this time to shove them off of her. “You ruined the moment. I hate you."

"We were having a moment? Why didn't you tell me?” Trini laughed at Kim’s hyperbolic fake anger, which only seemed to further her annoyance. She began to walk away from Trini. “Baby, come back! You can blame it all on me!”

Kim hesitated, looking back at her and rolling her eyes, but her lips slipped into an easy smile. And suddenly, that soft look was back in her eyes. Yet, she turned away and continued passing through the crowd.

Trini moved to follow, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Baby? So does this mean you finally told Kim how gay you are for her?"

"Zack, I think about killing you. So much."

Zack took a sip of the drink he appeared with. He had the worst timing. "Oh, yeah. Forgot you're a total pussy."

"Well, they say you are what you eat, which explains why you're such a dick." Trini punched him in his side, and he lurched over. But she realized it wasn't from her hit, he was bowled over in laughter. One hand grabbed his stomach, and his other held onto Trini’s shoulder for balance. His whole frame shuddered in his hysteria.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That's just like,” He began as he finally started to calm down, wiping a tear from his face. His breathing still uneven. “Literally like the funniest thing you've ever said.” He let out a big sigh, before abruptly becoming very serious. “But, homophobia's not cool, Trin."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Speaking of,” Zack ignored her question, his train of thought already jumping to another track. “Do you think our resident Golden Boys have…” His eyes widened in horror. “Oh God, what if they're up in the green room right now-oh wait nevermind, there they are with Kim.” Which, he should've known, considering Billy left the greenroom first, while he stuck around to call his mom.

Trini followed his line of sight, and sure enough, there they all stood at the edge of the crowd. Kim seemed to be hurriedly talking to Jason, while Billy fidgeted with the watch on his wrist.

“I guess we should go meet up with the rest of our band.” And once again, her movement was stopped by Zack’s grasp on her shoulder.

“Real quick, Trini.” This time he looked genuinely somber, not the mockery of it he was doing before. “You know I was kidding about Kim earlier, right? I don't see her like that-”

Now Trini's eyes widened in horror. “Can we not?? Fucking talk about this???” She would rather die.

 _“_ I know but I know how you feel, and I don't want you be mad at me-”

“It's fine, man! It's fine!”

Zack smiled. “Okay, good. Cuz you're my best friend. And I don't want you to be mad at me.” He pulled her into a hug that was only effective because she wasn't expecting it and was startled by its suddenness. Zack was very much a bear hug guy, and Trini was completely unlearned in human affection. She patted him on the back, hoping it was the appropriate thing to do.

“You have so many feelings dude, you're like a girl.” She punched him again, lighter this time, when she was finally released.

He shook his head. “Sexism’s not cool, Trin.”

“Seriously??”

Trini was about to hit him for a third time, but the room filled with the sound of feedback and her hands shot to her ears instead.

“Sorry about that.” The venue owner said, holding the responsible microphone at an awkward angle. “That’s one way to get a crowd’s attention I guess.”

Jason vehemently waved Trini and Zack over, asserting “We have to look like unit!” once they made it to his side. Trini shrugged, and Zack finished off the rest of his Coke like Jason hadn’t spoken.

“I want to thank all the bands that performed tonight, you were all great!” The venue owner continued. “But only one can make it to the next round, and our winners’ for tonight’s Battle of the Bands are,” He paused, bringing a white piece of paper up to his eyes. “The Power Rangers!”

They all, except for Trini, cuz you know like, she’s too cool, jumped in excitement. Zack whooped loud enough for it to echo off the walls, and Billy hands were a blur of little claps. They rushed the stage.

Zack and Jason jokingly shoved past each other to reach the stairs first, and it almost became a full on wrestling match. Zack, being the taller one, had Jason in a headlock by the time they actually got on the platform. Trini, Kimberly, and Billy were already standing at the mic next to the owner of the venue.

“Here’s your stipend to make it to the next venue, in addition to some prize money!” He handed Kim the envelope filled with cash.

Billy was the one to speak, grabbing the mic, his elation momentarily letting him forget about the overstimulation that came with being on stage. “Thank you guys for liking me and my friends!”

The crowd lost it. Everyone loved Billy, it was impossible not to, and his smile was so big it almost reached his ears. He clapped with the audience.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was almost one in the morning, and their white van was as quiet as the unpopulated road it drifted along on. Jason was driving and Billy was in the passenger seat, trying to keep them both awake. It helped that Zack was snoring loudly. He took up the entire middle seat, limbs thrown in various places like a rag doll. It would be incredibly uncomfortable for a normal person, but he was far from that.

Trini and Kim were in the last seat. Kim had fallen asleep as well, but her head lay against Trini’s chest and her legs stretched out on the rest of the seat, so she had to be infinitely more comfortable than Zack. Granted, either way, both of them were going to wake up with pain in their joints.

Trini was wide awake.

Her arm was going numb from Kim laying on it, but if anyone asked, she would say she was totally fine, and she definitely had the power to move Kim if it became unbearable.

She glared at the rearview mirror to check that Jason wasn’t using it to look back at her. He wasn’t.

Next, Trini looked out the window, as if to make sure it was still night, and asking it to cover her. It felt more like a bargain, though she didn’t have anything to offer it. Except the feelings she hid away in the daylight.

It was still dark, because, of course it was, besides the little moonlight that crept into the windows. It was night’s only condition in its deal with Trini, and it made a blue halo around Kimberly’s face.

Trini stared. She stared and her chest ached, at long last given the freedom to dwell, to drink in its own whisperings that were hushed for hours. Kim was beautiful, and she left herself think it without cringing.It was bizarre to see Kim, usually sharp and smooth, look soft and inviting. She felt the weight of her affection bearing down on her chest, and making her diaphragm forget the patterns ingrained in its very being since the moment of its existence. It would much prefer to stammer and stutter at the sight of Kimberly Hart asleep and cozy against her.

All the while that fucking _Sleazy Bed Track_ song was stuck in her head, repeating only the lines she knew in an incessant loop.

“I’m feeling kind of tired,” Trini sang to herself, quietly, barely above a whisper. “But it ain’t exactly beating down my door.” She faltered, her breath catching in her throat. A shaky hand moved on its own to nudge a stray hair from Kim’s face and tuck it behind her ear. “Now, just why should this be?”

Her hand couldn’t move. Her skin felt alive, but her hand was dead. All it was capable of doing was brushing a thumb over Kim’s temple, softly. So gentle, Trini was positive it had a mind of its own, because she was too clumsy to manage anything like it.

“Don’t stop.”

Trini went rigid, completely shutting down. If she were a computer, her screen would have been showing a rebooting sequence. She even stopped breathing. She became as still as a statue.

Reason number one being: obviously it wasn’t a conscious decision, and her body seized up in panic. Like a possum. And as most possums got killed for real when they did that, she was sure that would happen next.

Reason number two was: what the fuck??? Why did Kim say that??? Trini hadn’t heard her talk in her sleep before, but if this was the dream she decided to start dictating aloud, Trini would have no choice but to barrel roll right out the back of the van, taking all their instruments with her. She would have to live in the mountains of whatever fucking state they were in, because there was no way she could face Kim. Her ears were on fire.

Kim groaned in protest. “Keep singing.”

Trini exhaled audibly, actually glad that Kim had been awake this whole time, because the alternative, for once, was worse. She let out a nervous chuckle, able to move her body again. “I don’t know the rest of the words.”

Kim groaned again, annoyed, as she always seemed to be with Trini. “All you gotta do,” She yawned. “Is baby kick off your shoes and lay down.” She was singing now, but she sounded different than she did on stage. It was quiet, and sleepy, and soft. Much like the song itself.

Trini looked away, before her face told on her. She felt Kim intertwine their fingers before she saw them. Her other hand dug into the seat.

“Climb up here with me, and let’s forget about sleep. And lay down.”

There was something in the air. Something tangible. Something that hummed around the both of them.

Something heavy.

But also, peaceful. Perfect and unsullied.

“Hey, you guys want to know something funny?” Billy declared from the front seat, breaking the silence.

“What?” Trini’s voice cracked.

“All of the original Power Rangers have our names. Our parents named us after Power Rangers.”

Trini and Kim’s laughter reverberated through their mobile, makeshift home.

 

 


End file.
